# Doc says I need to take vitamin D supplements, but the Google says vitamins are BS. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 12, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110 "2019-09-12T16:27:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/21 "2019-09-12T23:07:12Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What’s your vitamin D blood level? > > I rarely prescribe supplemental vitamins (beyond what’s in a healthy diet) at all for my patients, nor recommend them. > > Except for vitamin D. If levels are really low (like under 20), I am aggressive about raising them, prescribing 50,000 units a week of Vitamin D2 for 8-12 weeks to replenish the deficit, then maintaining levels after that with 2000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. That’s what my doctor did- mine was 19. But I’m rather sure I’ve never been seen by you, Dr. Q. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/22 "2019-09-12T23:35:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > My blood tests showed consistent Vitamin D deficiency, so my doc put me on a low dosage. The tests improved only slightly, so the dosage was increased. Long story short, I’ve been taking 50K units/day for a few years now, and blood test results have been normal. > > What bothers me, though, is that there seem to be fads in medical deficiencies. It seems that lately, everybody’s diagnosed with D deficiency. Before D, it was testosterone. What’s next? They’re not being diagnosed, which is the problem. If someone is convinced they have a deficiency, then why waste time and money going to a doctor? Jump directly to the “cure”. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/23 "2019-09-12T23:40:51Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > What bothers me, though, is that there seem to be fads in medical deficiencies. It seems that lately, everybody’s diagnosed with D deficiency. Before D, it was testosterone. What’s next? A whole lot of people really **are** vitamin D deficient much of the year, though. North of about Boston there isn’t strong enough sunlight for our bodies to produce _any_ between November and March. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/24 "2019-09-13T01:04:15Z")
My PCP started routinely testing everyone a few years back and told me that many people in our area are deficient. My levels were about half of where they should be, so he put me on a high-dose Rx supplement for 12 weeks and then told me to take OTC supplements once I got within the normal range. I take 5,000 IU/day, which keeps me smack in the middle of normal. Osteoporosis runs all over my mom’s side of the family. We used to be the same height, and now at 74 she is a good 3 inches shorter. My grandmother shrank even more than that before she died. I can’t help but wonder whether that would be the case if we all got enough Vitamin D. ---
**Author:** ![Time\_Like\_Tears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/25 "2019-09-13T03:21:20Z")
Anecdotally related (or not, the jury is still out, but there’s a lot of correlation) to my Multiple Sclerosis, I have chronically low vitamin D and B12 levels and have to supplement. My only recommendation if that if you’ve been diagnosed with low vitamin D through bloodwork from your doctor, ask them to kindly prescribe you D2 supplements instead of picking up mega doses of OTC D3. D2 is absorbed better by the body, can come in a higher concentration via prescription supplements, costs pennies, and isn’t as likely to end up giving you kidney stones. That’s what happened to me - I was taking massive doses of D3 which also aids in calcium absorption in normal, healthy people. Only problem with that is that my blood calcium levels were normal to great, no issues there. So now I’m absorbing more! And my poor kidneys are filtering extra, and over time it got to be too much. All in all, I was able to raise my blood vitamin D count much more quickly and efficiently with prescription D2 supplements anyway. My new normal is now about 16-17, rather than the 5ish I used to average. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/26 "2019-09-13T03:46:44Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Osteoporosis runs all over my mom’s side of the family. We used to be the same height, and now at 74 she is a good 3 inches shorter. My grandmother shrank even more than that before she died. I can’t help but wonder whether that would be the case if we all got enough Vitamin D. I’m almost 74 and, though I don’t have osteoporosis, I’ve lost 1.5 inches in height. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/27 "2019-09-13T04:03:43Z")
My Vitamin D levels were the lowest my PCP had ever seen, so I got put on D. I got the megadose once week for a while, and as my levels improved, he told me to switch to the non-prescription once a day for maintenance–as well as to go outside and get at least 10 - 15 minutes of sun exposure per day. There’s also the issue of there being a debate about what is actually the normal levels for Vitamin D. I’ve seen arguments that the current recommended levels are too low. I’ve seen recommendations as high as 60 instead of 20, though I suspect that may be an overton window situation. If you are like me, you’re likely not feeling all that great lately, being tired with muscle aches and such. The Vitamin D can really help–though it takes a bit of time. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/28 "2019-09-13T04:32:02Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What’s your vitamin D blood level? > > I rarely prescribe supplemental vitamins (beyond what’s in a healthy diet) at all for my patients, nor recommend them. > > Except for vitamin D. If levels are really low (like under 20), I am aggressive about raising them, prescribing 50,000 units a week of Vitamin D2 for 8-12 weeks to replenish the deficit, then maintaining levels after that with 2000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. Good points. Doctors also suggest B12 for Vegans and for the elderly, and for the elderly try sublingual. Calcium and Magnesium, while technically not “vitamins” are also commonly short in American diets. Here are the most common: > **[7 Nutrient Deficiencies That Are Incredibly Common](https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-common-nutrient-deficiencies)** > > Nutrient deficiencies may occur with almost every nutrient, but some are more likely than others. Here are 7 incredibly common nutrient deficiencies. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/29 "2019-09-13T04:51:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > … What bothers me, though, is that there seem to be fads in medical deficiencies. It seems that lately, everybody’s diagnosed with D deficiency. … Yup. [A good recent skeptical review.](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vitamin-d-supplements-lose-luster) (Best evidence is the MS stuff referenced above.) I make no comment about the op and believe that true deficiency should be treated, but I suspect that some of what is going on that a symptom is being mistaken for a cause in some cases. The correlation of low vitamin D with a variety of conditions is being touted as evidence that low vitamin D is causative of those conditions but there is some reason to believe that the causation is reverse. [Interesting animal model.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090123216300492) Rats who were artificially given diabetes and kept sedentary had low vitamin D levels result. Interestingly that vitamin D reduction caused by the induced DM was much less in rats that had moderate exercise (swimming). On the human side those who exercise are less likely to have vitamin D and better cardiorespiratory fitness is correlated with higher vitamin D. [Exercise during pregnancy](https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-effect-of-physical-activity-on-vitamin-d-status-in-pregnant-women-participating-in-a-randomized-controlled-trial-2155-9600-1000721.pdf) results in higher vitamin D levels whether they exercised outdoors or indoors. (RCT) > [@](#): > > The findings are consistent with earlier studies, which showed that physical activity was positively associated with 25(OH)D concentration in various non-pregnant populations, including children and adolescents [9], adults [5] and elderly adults [6,7], as well as cancer patients [10] and in lactating postpartum women [11], **regardless of indoor vs outdoor physical activity** [8] (Bolding mine.) I am aware of lots of people who have been diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency and who are taking absurd doses of supplemental vitamin D without budging their blood levels. I wouldn’t tell anyone to not take vitamin D advised by their health care professional but **DO also start a regular exercise program** , whether or not that means exercising in the sunlight some. My, so far with only a little to support it, _hypothesis_ is that sedentary lifestyles and subclinical insulin resistance (and other inflammatory conditions) are even more to blame for endemic low vitamin D levels than lack of sunlight is, and that the causation goes more from those conditions to the low D than the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/30 "2019-09-13T06:10:43Z")
Anecdotally, my doc has gotten on me about taking Vitamin D supplements. He’d said (IIRC) that Vitamin D deficiency is really quite common here in Australia - possibly due to a _very_ effective sunblock drive in various PSAs.\* \*Nothing sinister about that - melanoma is worse than a vitamin deficiency, after all! ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/31 "2019-09-13T07:29:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Except for vitamin D. If levels are really low (like under 20), I am aggressive about raising them, prescribing 50,000 units a week of Vitamin D2 for 8-12 weeks to replenish the deficit, then maintaining levels after that with 2000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. When I asked to have my vitamin D levels tested a couple of years ago, my level was 5. :eek: My GP was like, “y’know, we don’t really hear much about rickets these days, but…” 😃 Needless to say I take supplements. And lemme tell you, the improvement was FAST and noticable. So much more energy! ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/32 "2019-09-13T07:37:35Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What’s your vitamin D blood level? > > I rarely prescribe supplemental vitamins (beyond what’s in a healthy diet) at all for my patients, nor recommend them. > > Except for vitamin D. If levels are really low (like under 20), I am aggressive about raising them, prescribing 50,000 units a week of Vitamin D2 for 8-12 weeks to replenish the deficit, then maintaining levels after that with 2000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. Ye; I work nights and frankly unless it’s -10 out would rather sit be in the shade. Especially here in Tucson most of the year. I was so unsurprised to be Vitamin D deficient. What you said you prescribe is what I was prescribed. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/33 "2019-09-13T09:28:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > What’s your vitamin D blood level? > > I rarely prescribe supplemental vitamins (beyond what’s in a healthy diet) at all for my patients, nor recommend them. > > Except for vitamin D. If levels are really low (like under 20), I am aggressive about raising them, prescribing 50,000 units a week of Vitamin D2 for 8-12 weeks to replenish the deficit, then maintaining levels after that with 2000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. You’d think you’d get the occasional vegatarian/vegan who needs B12 even in your practice. Personally, I get lots of outside exercise (two or three hours/day, no sunscreen) and, while I haven’t had any tests, I expect my D level to be way up there. In winter, I’m sure it comes down and I should consider a supplement then. OTOH, I’m a vegetarian, and take a small amount of B12. I do consume milk and yoghurt, but recently I cut back on my yoghurt consumption to only one or two bowls/day. So just to be sure, I got some liquid B12 supplement. Pretty much all B12 supplements have 1000 mcg (or more) per pill, which is way above the RDA of about 2 mcg, and even well above the recommended supplement of 1 to 25 mcg. This one I got says to take 25 drops to get that 1000 mcg, but I only take about 3 or 4 drops. It’s probably still more than I need. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/34 "2019-09-13T14:06:32Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > You’d think you’d get the occasional vegatarian/vegan who needs B12 even in your practice. I do check b12 levels regularly in folks on such diets; even then I rarely see low levels, even if they’re not supplementing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/35 "2019-09-13T14:22:18Z")
I am not “anti-supplement”, but think that many supplements are hyped for benefits they have not been shown to convey, and can even potentially increase cancer risk (as in the case of some antioxidants). It’s a different situation if a physician has good grounds for recommending supplementation and a quality product is used. You can overdo vitamin D, as a certain alt med guru found out. > **[“Gary Null’s Ultimate Power Meal” Almost Killed Me, Says Gary Null](https://www.loweringthebar.net/2010/05/gary-nulls-ultimate-power-meal-almost-killed-me-says-gary-null.html)** > > In a lawsuit filed in New York on April 26, Gary Null alleges that he became severely ill after eating a dietary supplement that caused him to develop a number of painful symptoms.  In fact, G… ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/36 "2019-09-13T14:27:39Z")
> [@susan](#): > > My PCP, oncologist, and naturopathic doc have me taking D3 because they want my level to stay in a particular range based on my medical history. Same here but swap out a cardiologist for the naturalist. Under a doctors advice for specific reasons vitamins are like any other medication. Under the advice of some odd person who says “B12 made me a totally new man and you MUST take it too” I call BS. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/37 "2019-09-13T15:31:16Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > My doctor suggested Vitamin D to help with restless leg syndrome. I’m pretty sure it’s a placebo suggestion, but, meh, what the hell, I got a big bottle on sale. Have you noticed any effect on the restless leg syndrome? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/38 "2019-09-13T16:02:05Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > … If levels are really low (like under 20), I am aggressive about raising them, prescribing 50,000 units a week of Vitamin D2 for 8-12 weeks to replenish the deficit, then maintaining levels after that with 2000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. Can you reduce my ignorance please? Why the preference for D2 in your initial phase? And how often are _you_ seeing persistently low levels despite those levels of replacement? When you do see it, why do you think it happens? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/39 "2019-09-13T16:15:36Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Can you reduce my ignorance please? > > Why the preference for D2 in your initial phase? > > And how often are _you_ seeing persistently low levels despite those levels of replacement? When you do see it, why do you think it happens? > > Thanks. Force of habit, In the old days, the use of the hi dose D2 version weekly was recommended to “replenish the deficit” more effectively with a shift to low dose D2 or D3 daily after 8-12 weekly doses. These days, there’s _some_ evidence that D3 would work better for replenishing, but most of that info was gleaned from weekly or even monthly hi dose regimens, and no one has ascertained whether it makes a clinical difference. So in short, I do it the way I learned it as a resident in the early 80’s and there’s not been a strong enough consensus on new recommendations to get me to change old habits. I’ve seen a LOT of folks that are hard to replenish. They come in at levels of 6 or less, and it may take 18 weeks of high dose to get them near normal. I don’t know why. But once replenished, they seem to be maintained well on 2000 of D3 daily. In our setting it’s tough to encourage them to get more sunlight (many of our prisons are closer to the north pole than the equator, and many of my patients have a lot of melanin to prevent decent sunlight absorption, and they hardly get to go outside anyway) so once they’re topped off, it’s easier to maintain them on daily doses rather than risk recurrence. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110/40 "2019-09-17T07:05:44Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > but the Google says vitamins are BS. The google also says the earth is flat. heck… the google ALSO says the Earth is “Falt” (About 2 110 000 results) So the earth must be “falt”. After all, there are more than two million hits for a search on the exact phrase “falt earth” One needs to apply a teensy bit of thought to any result the internet gives you. Not all results are trustworthy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doc-says-i-need-to-take-vitamin-d-supplements-but-the-google-says-vitamins-are-bs/840110.md?page=3)